Saturday, December 6, 2014

The Walking Dead: The Best Defense

Rick's group is trying to come to terms with their new life. They struggle to set aside differences as they work on clearing the prison to make it a safe place to settle down. Glen, Rick, and Michonne see a helicopter go down, and quickly set off to look for survivors. Someone has beaten them to the crash. They discover a small fortified town called Woodbury, and their leader, the Governor. Rick, Glen, and Michonne soon realize this is not a small haven willing to work with them. The Governor is a sadistic ruler that wants no interference--or challenge to his authority.

This is the fifth book in The Walking Dead series, and it begins right after volume four The Heart's Desireends. This was the most violent of the whole series so far. It made the series much darker, which is surprising as there is constant violence in this series. This volume did not move the plot along a lot. It was the beginning of a whole new plot line, so it was largely used to foreshadow future events, and introduce us to some new characters. I was okay with this, because there needed to be something besides constant infighting and relationship drama. The introduction of a villain was something this series needed, because let's face it, not everyone is going to try their best to help others in an apocalypse.

I do think some of the issues I have mentioned before are still present. For example, the way the women are written is horrible. I keep waiting to see some improvement in that area. If the goal of the series is to examine how people would react in a zombie apocalypse situation, I have to think at least one woman would step up and defend herself, and not depend on all the men to do it for her. I find the lack of competent women in this series disturbing. The character art did improve. They are becoming more distinguishable from each other, which I greatly appreciate.

I am intrigued to see where the story arch with the Governor goes. I will continue reading this series, because despite the flaws, I find it an interesting angle for a post-apocalypse story. I just hope some of the issues I have with it are improved as the series goes on.

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About Me

I have my BA in History, and I minored in History of Art and Museum Studies. I like to cook, travel, and read. I love to share what I am reading, and help other people find books they are interested in. I hope you find some books you like here, and will share your thoughts on the books I review.